Underground system for electric railways



(N0 M ode l.) 3 Sheet-Shet 1. W. P. ALLEN. UNDERGROUND SYSTEM FORELECTRIC RAILWAYS. No. 554,102.

. Patented Feb.- 4, 1896.

(No Model.) Y 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

W. P. ALLEN. UNDERGROUND SYSTEM FOR ELEGTRIG RAILWAYS. No. 554,102.

atent d Feb. i-

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F x s, mW/T. 4 f 7/ m k aw w m u m m M P w L L L w w W a m Q r A. 2% v oUNDERGROUND SYSTEM FOR ELECTRIC RAILWAYS.

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

IVILLIAM P. ALLEN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNEASSIGNMENTS, OF Tl/VO-THIRDS TO OLIVER S. KELLY AND ALVARO S. KROTZ, OFSPRINGFIELD, OHIO.

UNDERGROUND SYSTEM FOR ELECTRIC RAILWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 554,102, dated February4, 1896.

Application filed June 22, 1895. Serial No. 553,761. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be vit known that I, WILLIAM P. ALLEN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Ohicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Underground Systems forElectric Railways, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in underground systems for electricrailways and conductors therefor.

My invention consists in the various constructions and combinations ofparts hereinafter described and set forth in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional elevationillustrating a portion of the street-railway track to which my improvedsystem has been applied. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional elevation ofthe same with a diagrammatic illustration of the traveling conductorsand circuits. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of my improvedconductor and connections therefor. Fig. 4 is a transverse sectionalview of the same, and Fig. 5 is a similar view showing aslightlymodified construction.

Like parts are represented by similar-letters of reference in theseveral views.

In the said drawings, a a represent the track-rails of an ordinarystreet-railway of any usual construction, preferably supported in theusual manner on cross-ties a. At intervals along the track andpreferably midway between the track-rails are supporting yokes or chairsZ), which are preferably cast from a single piece of metal and providedon either side with suitable supporting projections Z), and at the topwith bearing supports Z1 to receive the horizontal flanges ofangleiron-supporting pieces 0 c. As before stated, the yokes orchairs 1) are placed at intervalssay three or four feet apartwhile theangleiron-supporting pieces 0 c are continuous and are located in thebearing-seats h to which they are bolted or otherwise secured, as shownin Figs. 3 and at, said supporting-pieces c, of which there are two,being located a short distance apart, so as to' form a slotted way,which extends continuously between the track-rails. The sides of theyokes or supporting-chairs Z) are preferably formed at an angle, andplates or blocks 12 are placed against the same to retain back thefilling of sand, gravel, or concrete, which forms the road-bed, thusleaving an open space or conduit between said plates or blocks, which ispreferably open at the bottom. Below the cross-ties a, and preferablycentrally below the supporting-yokes, is a drain-tile a which may haveany usual sewer connection, the space between saiddrain-tile and theconduit being preferably filled with loose material, such as sand orbroken stone, through which any water or moisture will find a readypassage to the drain-tile (R, which is of the ordinary openconstruction.

Such, briefly described, is the conduit or inclosing-chamber in which myimproved conductors are located, which, owing to the peculiar characterof said conductors, may be entirely open, if desired, only such sideconstruction being necessary as will prevent obstructions from gettinginto the chamber or passage which will interfere with the passage of thetraveling contacting devices or trolleys hereinafter more fullydescribed.

The conductors proper are formed in sections, and each consists of aninner metallic bar (:1 of a peculiar shape in cross-sectionthat is, eachis provided with a vertical web d and horizontal wings or flanges (1 (1the lower wing or flange being preferably curved to correspond in shapeto the conformation of an outer inclosing sheath or casing 6. This outercasing e is formed of very light flexible metal, such as sheet-steel,phosphorbronze, or similar substance. The outer casing or covering ismade in sections of a slightly-greater length than the length of theconductorsections. The conductor d is supported within the casing c bymeans of suitable bolts (1 preferably of vulcanized rubber or similarinsulating material, which bolts extend up through the flanges d thencethrough an insulating-plate d thence through perforations in the top ofthe metallic shell e, the plate d of insulating substance, and the angleplate or bar 01 which is bolted or otherwise secured to theanglesupporting pieces 0 c. The outer casings e are supported at eachend on insulatingblocks 6', which at one end are formed to fit snuglywithin said casings, said blocks being beveled slightly at the bottom,as shown in Fig. 3, so that at the inner end they stand flush with andjoin the lower flange d of the conductor (1. These sections are furthersupported at each end and connected together by means of a U-shapednon-conducting supporting-block e bolted or otherwise secured to thesupporting-pieces 0, connecting-bolts 6 being extended through saidsupporting-blocks so as to engage with the insulating-blocks e, a gasket6*, of rubber or other suitable packing material, being preferablyplaced between the supporting-block e and the insulating-blocks 6, so asto form a tight joint between the same and thus tightly close the endsof the sectional casing 6, thus making a water and air tight joint atthe ends of said sectional casing.

Extending longitudinallythrough the conduit or chamber and inproximityto the conductors are the feed wires or feedenmains f,preferablyinsulated in the usual manner and supported in the supportingproject-ions 1) formed on the yokes or chairs b.

Each of the conductors (Z is connected to one of the feeder-mains,preferably in the following manner: A rubber-coated conducting-wire d ispassed through a suitable opening formed in the angle-plate (linsulatingplate 0", casing e, insulating-strip d, and theconductor-flange (7?. The opening thus formed is internallyscrew-threaded and is of such a size that the rubber coating on the wire(i may be screwed into the same so as to form a tight joint andcompletely close the opening around the wire (Z The wire (Z is thenconnected to the conductor (1, preferably through the medium of one ofthe bolts (1*, which draws the wire firmly against the upper flange ofthe conductor and within the casing e. The other end of the wire d isthen spliced to the feeder-main f and the joint covered in the usualmanner to thoroughly insulate the same. I

In practice two of the sectional conductors thus described arepreferably employed, which are connected, respectively, to the positiveand negative wires from the source of supply. For each of the sectionalconductors there are two traveling contacting devices g g on themotor-car, the distance between these traveling contacting devices beingsuch that one or the other is always in contact with the outer casing ofone section of the conductor, so that there is no interruption in thecontact in passing over one section of the conductor to the other. Thesecontacting devices consist preferably of trolley-wheels 9 supported ininsulated bearings on U-shaped springs 9 and each attached to somesuitable form of support extending through the slotted way between theanglesupports 0 c. The supportingsprings g are of sufficient elasticityto cause the trolley-wheels to contact with the metallic casing c andforce the same into contact with the conductor (Z, which is normallyseparated therefrom by a very slight space or distance. The outermetallic casin g thus becomes charged and serves as a conductor to carrythe current from the normally-insulated conductor to the trolley-wheels,and thence to the motor or other devices connected therewith.

The sectional conductor (Z, it will be seen, is not only completelyinsulated from all the other parts of the system, but is also completelyinelosed so that no moisture or for eign. substance can come in contactwith the same. If desired, the outer casing may be filled with oil as afurther protection, and suitable reservoirs h may be supplied betweenthe said casings and the supports 0, said reservoirs being provided atthe bottom with a passage h, which extends into said casing, and with anormally-closed passage or filling opening 7L2, which is extendedthrough the plate or support 0, as shown in Fig. 3, so that ready accessmay be had thereto to keep the casings filled with oil.

The construction as above described, it will be seen, is very' simple,and all of the parts of the conductors maybe made up in sections in theshop, so as to be applied to the supporting-yokes without any change ormodification. The connecting-wire (Z may be applied thereto, so that inassembling the conductors it is only necessary to secure the sectionstogether and make the electrical connections with the feeder-heads.

To faciliate the assembling and removal of the conductors I preferablyform the supporting-pieces c o of a T shape, so that each has alongitudinally-projecting flange a proj ecting inwardly from thevertical wing 0 so as to form a narrow slotted way, while at the sametime an enlarged opening may be left between the upper adjacent sides ofthe yokes such as will permit the removal or insertion of one of theconductors complete. In assembling the parts when so constructed, one

of the conductors is dropped between the adjacent sides of thesupportingyoke, so as to pass completely into the chamber within saidyoke. The other conductor is then dropped into position and thesupporting-piece o fastened to said yoke. Afterward the first conductoris drawn back, so that the horizontal flange of the supporting-piece 0shall rest on the bearing support of the yoke and said conductor thenbolted firmly to position. It obvious that this same construction may beused with a single conductor and the trackrails used for thereturn-circuit in the ordinary manner, in which case one of theconductors and the traveling contacting devices therefor will bedispensed with.

The construction above described it willbe seen is simple and need notbe expensive. The conduit or chamber which incloses the same may be ofthe simplest character and no precaution is necessary to be takenagainst water or moisture, as the sectional conductors are alwayscompletely inclosed and insulated except at the moment of contact withthe outer casings and the traveling contacting devices. The outercasings being made of metal and ot a tubular form may be made very lightand still have ample resiliency to keep them at all times in theirproper positions and removed from the conductor. The beveledinsulating-blocks 6 permit the trolleys to pass from one sectionalconductor to the other without any sudden jerk or jar, and the use ofall kinds of switching devices for throwing the sections in and out,other than the outer casing itself, is entirely obviated.

It is obvious that the connecting-wires (Z may extend from one conductorto another so as to connect a number of said sectional conductors in aseries, a connection being formed with the feed-wire only at suchintervals as is desirable to insure a proper flow of current.

It is obvious that conductors constructed as above described may be usedwith overhead or other systems as well as with underground.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. An electrical conductor,substantially such as described, which consists essentially of an innermetallic conductor, an outer metallic sheath normally disconnected fromsaid conductor, and insulatingsupports at each end of said sheath, andan electrical connection through said sheath to said inner conductor,substantially as specified.

2. In an electric-railway system, a conductor formed in sections asdescribed, each section consisting essentially of an outer flexiblemetallic casing and an inner metallic core, i11- sulating-bloeks at eachend of said metallic casing adapted to close the same and form acontinuation of said metallic core, substantially as specified.

3. In an electric-railway system, a normallycharged electricalconductor, and a normallyinsulated resilient metallic tube for inclosingthe same, said tube being closed at each end as described, and means forbringing said flexible metallic tube in contact with said electricalconductor, substantially as specified.

4:. The combination with a moving contact device, of a sectionalconductor consisting of a series of flexible metallic tubes each closedat each end, and an inner normally-charged metallic core, an electricalconnection between the respective cores of said sections, and aninsulating connection between the respective metallic tubes of therespective sections, and means, substantially as described, for bringingthe respective flexible metallic tubes in contact with the innermetallic core as the contacting device travels along the same,substantially as specified.

6. The combination with a flexible tube,

and the insulating-supports in each end of the same, an inner metalliccore having upper and lower flanges as described, and adapted to form acontinuation of the said insulating-supports, which are beveled at oneside to recede from said metallic casing, and means for supporting saidmetallic casing, substantially as specified.

7. The combination with an outer metallic casing and an inner metalliccore, insulating devices for closing the ends of said casing, ascrew-threaded perforation through said casing and core, and aninsulated conductor with the insulation screwed into said perforation,and the metallic portion of said conductor secured to said metalliccore, substantially as specified.

8. The combination with a sectional conductor, the sections of which areeach formed with an outer metallic casing and an inner metallic coreinsulated therefrom, of a traveling conductor having two contactingpoints, each consisting of atrolley-wheel supported on a spring,substantially as specified.

9. The combination with the conductor-sections each consisting of anouter metallic flexible casing and an inner core, of a connecting-blockadapted to join the ends of said sections, said connecting-block beingformed of insulating material adapted to close the ends of therespective casings, substantially as specified.

10. The combination with an outer metallic casing and an inner metalliccore normally disconnected therefrom, means for closing the ends of saidcasing, and an oil-reservoir connected to said casing, substantially asspecified.

11. The combination with supporting-yokes having bearing-seats therein,the angle-supporting pieces having the laterally-extendingfianges,sectional conductors connected to said angle-supporting pieces,each consisting of an outer flexible metallic casing and an inner corenormally disconnected therefrom, an electrical connection to each ofsaid sectional cores, said cores and casings being insulated from saidangle-supporting pieces, substantially as specifiedl In testimonywhereof I have hereunto set my hand this 15th day of June, A. D. 1895.I25

WILLIAM P. ALLEN. Witnesses:

OLIVER H. MILLER, PAUL. A. STALEY.

